A coroner has called for street lights to be installed on a stretch of the A50 in Derbyshire which was the scene of a crash where a 27-year-old man died.

Aditya Puri died after he lost control of his van and collided with a lorry on the eastbound carriageway near Toyota Island in February 2017.

Coroner Rachel Syed told the inquest, held at Derby and Derbyshire Coroner’s Court, that it will never be known how Mr Puri, who worked as a systems engineer for Jaguar Land Rover and lived in Leamington Spa, lost control of the vehicle.

She said: "Aditya Puri lost control of his vehicle and collided with a stationary lorry. We do not know what caused the deceased to lose control of his vehicle."

Aditya Puri died after a crash on the A50 in February last year (Image: Picture supplied by Binu Puri)

Ms Syed said the stretch "would benefit from street lighting to prevent" other deaths. But, she added: "I do not believe a lack of street lighting caused Aditya to lose control of his vehicle."

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Ms Syed said Mr Puri, who would have been rendered unconscious, died from skull and brain injuries following the smash.

During the course of the inquest, Mr Puri's family raised a number of concerns with the coroner about the death and the police investigation into it.

A roadside shrine has been placed by the family at the scene where Aditya Puri died following an accident on the A50 near to the Burnaston Island.

Ms Syed concluded that she was satisfied Mr Puri was the only person in the van and that there was no other unidentified vehicle involved. She also said there was no evidence there were any "suspicious circumstances" surrounding the death.

She also said the lorry Mr Puri's van collided with was not parked on the carrigeway. She added: "I am satisfied from the evidence that the stationary lorry position did not cause Aditya to lose control."

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Ms Syed also did not accept the police investigation was inadequate. Ms Syed said she was satisfied Mr Puri was not on his mobile phone at the time of the incident and he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph after the inquest, Mr Puri's mother, Binu Puri, and brother, Raghav Puri, said they hoped Highways England would listen to calls to install street lighting on that stretch of the road.

Mr Puri said: "One of our big aims was for the issue of no street lighting in that area to be highlighted. It's a very dark road. I went there for a drive sometime ago and it's clear it needs to be installed.

"It's a horrendous stretch with no lighting, especially considering it has a 70mph speed limit."

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Mrs Puri said: "It still remains a mystery how Aditya lost control. There's still questions that remain open. We are grateful for the coroner's conclusion though."

Mr Puri said: "Aditya, was not only my brother, but my best friend. He guided me in life and set out a direction for me to focus on. We as a family miss Aditya, we have lost a supportive, family orientated and responsible son and brother.

The inquest has resumed into Aditya's death. He was a keen cyclist (Image: Unknown)

"I would also like to thank the people of Derbyshire for their continuous support, throughout this difficult time and also Aditya’s friends at Jaguar Land Rover."

A Highways England spokesperson said: “Any death on our network is one too many and our deepest sympathy is with the family and friends of Mr Puri. We will carefully consider any comments the coroner sends us.”

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